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Domain: wizzy.org.za
Stories and comments across the archive that link to wizzy.org.za.
Comments · 12
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Re:Handing off thumb drives - The new Cuban Intern
They obviously need to use UUCP! http://www.wizzy.org.za/
I predict that Cuba will become the centre of a new world-wide anti-imperialist UUCP network reaching all the way to Venezuela. -
Sneakernet
Wizzy Digital Courier is a system that allows internet (email, web scrapes, anything that will move via UUCP) to be delivered - from a place that has conventional access to an isolated system or network. Some pretty pictures for you. The price point moves down to zero, with someone helpful upstream. Bandwidth is not too bad either - a USB stick can hold a lot more than you can transfer using dialup.
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Wikipedia article on this topicSee also the Wikipedia article on this topic.
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Re:What about Wikipedia?Indeed.
Shameless plug
Wizzy Digital Courier puts down an affordable internet connection, with a complete remote installation of wikipedia (1Gig database, 14Gig pictures) in schools in South Africa.
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How has his push for open source made inroads ?Folks,
Mark has made quite a few efforts in the open source arena - most notably (in my opinion) in efforts at putting Linux classrooms down in township schools. See Schools' Linux Users Group that uses K12LTSP - a for-schools offshoot of the parent LTSP project, and chases Fedora. They have done around 70 schools so far - basically a big fat server, a 24 port switch, and a 20 client classroom.
Wizzy Digital Courier is piloting a low-cost internet access system in these schools, initially using overnight dialup using cheap rate phone calls, but enabled to use USB memory sticks to carry data using the UUCP protocol. This means that the price of connectivity can come down to zero, and is not dependent on a wireline telephone company pricing.
Disclaimer:I do wizzy, and I have mod points today so I can post anonymously. Tee Hee.
andyr@wizzy.com
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Wizzy Digital Courier
Wizzy Digital Courier's mission is to radically drop the cost of Internet access in every aspect, from equipment, to phone rates, to remote access, to the point that most schools in the world can now consider it for their kids. In most countries the Internet, that is EMAIL and WEB, is not available in schools. For kids to graduate without an intimate and second nature experience with the Internet leaves them seriously unprepared. The "Digital Divide" is actually only an economic divide. We have a novel system of using a USB memory stick to carry Internet content.
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Dilemma for South African GovernmentWhen Telkom were given another five years of monopoly seven years ago, I thought it was too long. The Second network operator has been a long time coming, and is not here yet.
Telkom has the South african government as a majority shareholder.
In return for a promised rollout of connectivity to rural areas, Telkom were allowed a monopoly of provider interconnect, international connectivity, and wireless (wireless -across property boundaries or a road, not office 802.11B)
Naturally, this artificially inflates Telkom's value, and the anticipated return of a de-regulation stock sale.
To the Government's credit, and ICASA they have acted in the interests of the South African consumer and liberalised the environment before de-regulation.
Cheers, Andy!
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Re: a better life through access to informationYou might want to check out our project
Bypass the monopoly Telcos with a uniquely African solution.
Cheers, Andy!
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Wizzy Digital Courier - High latency networkFolks,
We have an Internet-content delivery system that works in a high-latency environment, to deliver mail and web content to South African schools.
The problem it is designed to overcome is the high cost of local telephone calls in a monopoly wireline provider regulatory environment.
We use cheap-rate overnight phone calls and a UUCP delivery system in conjunction with a local mailserver and wwwoffle web cache.
UUCP can also be used via a USB memory stick, similar to the DataMule (pdf) paper referenced on the website. Carrying the memory stick (the Courier) is identical to one UUCP hop.
The website gives more information.
Cheers, Andy!
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Bullocks ? Why not sneakernet ?We also do internet access for those who cannot afford it. Bullocks would work
We use a USB memory stick as a physical carrier for internet data - Email and (cached) web access. Check it out at wizzy.org.za - based out of South Africa, but with an open-source CD download at the site above.
Our main carrier protocol is UUCP Cheers, Andy!
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Wizzy Digital CourierPlug
At Wizzy Digital Courier we are putting together a system that can deliver Internet content in third world countries.
Read the site for all the details, but in a nutshell it implements bandwidth by carrying data physically on a hard drive instead of passing it down a telephone line.
Using 802.11b wireless ethernet cards at either end, a vehicle that makes regular trips to rural areas - be it to deliver people, beer, or bread - can become a conduit for Email and web content.
It uses Linux, UUCP for the transport, and WWWoffle web proxy. The proxy allows requests made at a remote school to be passed back to a well-connected server, which scrapes pages, and passes the content back to back-fill the remote proxy.
Cheers, Andy!
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Re: South Africa surfingNo - South Africans surf
Why ?
- Because South African companies like those addresses - makes them 'international'
- Because hotmail doesnt have a
- Because google.com returns search results from the world, and the world is a
What am I doing about it ? See Wizzy Digital Courier